AUGUSTA – Lewiston is getting $2.63 million more this year for K-12 education.
Auburn is getting $1.62 million more.
SAD 52, SAD 9, SAD 17 and Sabattus, Wales and Litchfield are getting more. A few towns, including Poland and Rangeley, are getting less.
Statewide, 189 of 230 school districts are getting more state money for education and to relieve property taxes, according to a list released Thursday. That may or may not mean that local property taxes are being cut, state officials said.
A law passed last year, L.D. 1, said the state would spend $300 million more in four years for education and property tax relief. Gov. John Baldacci originally proposed 90 percent of the increase be returned to taxpayers, but that part was stripped out.
Martha Freeman, director of the State Planning Office, stressed Thursday that this year’s extra $79 million is for education and property tax relief, since education is the biggest slice of property taxes.
Some communities that have spent less than the state average on education may need a year or two to catch up before cutting taxes, Freeman said.
But with all the extra money state taxpayers are giving to municipalities, property taxes everywhere should be cut by 2009 when the law will be fully implemented, Freeman said.
Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, agreed.
“This year there’s a significant infusion of money to communities,” among the largest in Maine history, Rotundo said. “It’s important to be asking municipalities, ‘What are you doing with the extra money?’ They have the freedom to make those decisions,” said Rotundo, co-chairwoman of the legislative Appropriations Committee.
In Lewiston this year, the extra state money won’t mean taxes will go down again, said Lewiston School Superintendent Leon Levesque. Last year Lewiston used $1 million of its extra $3.4 million state money to cut taxes.
“My goal is a no tax increase,” Levesque said. Taxes won’t be cut “with the needs I’ve seen.” Levesque will present his budget to the School Committee on Monday.
Those needs include a student population that has grown slightly, higher heating and electricity costs, four or five teacher contracts about to expire, “and we have increased health costs.” Additionally, Lewiston is spending less on education than it should be, according to the state funding formula, Levesque said.
This year’s additional $2.63 million from the state “is good news in the sense it will help us catch up with the needs,” Levesque said.
Lewiston is receiving more because student population has grown slightly, the city’s property valuation increased 7 percent while the state average was double that. Plus, Lewiston has a growing number of Somali students where English is their second language and students need extra help. And Lewiston has a large proportion of students from poor homes who also need extra support.
Efforts to reach Auburn school administrators were unsuccessful. Superintendent Barbara Eretzian stated in an e-mail that what’s misleading about the extra $1.6 million is that Auburn has additional costs to replace the Lake Street school.
It was not known Thursday whether Auburn school officials will use any of the money to cut taxes.
The Auburn School Committee is expected to work on its school budget later this month.
A list of how the state is allocating education money is at http://www.maine.gov/education/data/eps/fy07/eps0607.htm.
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